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A popular opinion seems to be (not from this board, just from discussions I've had in person with friends) that if we legalize, all of America will turn into potheads, the economy will tumble because people are showing up high and giggling their way through the day.
We could have said the same thing about alcohol during prohibition. That if we re-legalized it, America would go to hell. People would show up to work drunk all the time, American society would drown itself in booze. This didn't happen, and I doubt it would with marijuana.
Marijuana is still an intoxicant, and would be treated as such. If you showed up to work high, you're fired. Simple as that. Just because it's legalized, doesn't mean bosses will just ignore it and everyone will turn into potheads.
I think marijuana should be legalized, the same way tobacco is. The only problem is that the government can't really make money on taxes with it, because it is so easy to grow. The stuff literally grows like weeds. The government would have to make growing it without a license illegal, in order to make taxing it profitable.
"Experts" say it's a gateway drug, but if we get rid of the dealers that removes most of the problem. If it becomes too expensive, the dealers will still sell their stuff cheaper and the problem will not go away.
Marijuana is a complex issue, but I don't see why it should not be legalized in the same vein as tobacco and alcohol.
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